Tata, the Cisco ASR 9000, and the Global Ethernet Evolution

Even if you’re a recent member of the SP360 blog audience, you likely know that our flagship edge router – the ASR 9000 – is on my list of favorite things (it makes a great gift idea for the Holidays, btw…), and we’re pleased to report that it is on the lists of many of our largest service provider customers, too. The ASR 9000 has no question made a strong degree traction in the market place in the 18 months since it became generally available and in fact is clearly hitting its stride with a 40% QoQ increase in its customer base last quarter. This traction is not just because of its unmatched capacity in the edge, or its unique capabilities in supporting the services and applications of the Next Generation of the Internet, but also because of its high degree of resiliency and quality – prompting many customers I speak to, to continue to rave about it.

In addition to all this traction, contributing to some nice market share gains for Cisco – an increase in 2.7% in edge share in CYQ3 alone per ACG Research – we’re just as pleased with what the ASR9000 can do to support our service provider customers. To that end, we’re honored to announce the addition of Tata Communications to the list of prominent, reference customers.

Founded in India more than 140 years ago, Tata Communications has grown into a global powerhouse, with a presence spanning more than 200 countries and a leadership position in emerging markets. Whether it is connectivity to Africa, data services to multi-national businesses, a TelePresence service to Starwood hotels, or broadband to a consumer in New Delhi, Tata Communications is at the forefront of delivering the next generation of network offerings. And, because of the scope of what they deliver and the resulting impact it has on both the bandwidth consumed and the intelligence required to create experiences, we think the ASR 9000 is a perfect fit for their network – and it’s an understatement that we’re glad they agree.

As their customers’ applications continue to advance, it’s exciting to see how the Ethernet service will advance as well. Here’s how they described it in their press release:

“In the coming months, Tata Communications will be launching an enhanced multipoint service, burstability with usage-based billing and will further develop its Dedicated Ethernet Service to scale from 1,000 – 10,000 Meg in 500 Meg increments. The company can also now ensure higher network quality as a result of being able to monitor each and every customer and class of service, independently.”

Despite the fact that “burstability” will become one of my new favorite words (add that to my “favorites” list.), consider for a minute the notion of 10,000 Meg Ethernet service and what that could enable businesses, governments and consumers…(As we say in Texas, “Giddyup!”)

The Next Generation of the Internet supports the Next Generation of innovative applications and needs this Next Generation of Ethernet, enabled by Cisco and delivered by Tata, at its very foundation.

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